Veteran Signs

My good friend "Doc" Whatley approached me with the idea of making some signs for a couple families that really go out of their way to host an annual Memorial Day party in southern Oregon. I didn't really have time to do it, but I said yes anyway, because I thought it would be a cool idea. Here's the final product of one of the signs. I actually added several coats of exterior grade finish after this. 

Because of time constraints, I had to take them with me to work and apply finish on a break! I did another coat at 10pm, one at 12am, then one at 4am. (I slept through my alarm, otherwise I would have got an extra at 2 am.)

A couple construction pics:

As with a lot of my projects, I get in a bind and don't take time for photos, or just plain forget. With my new sign kit, I fired up the router and went to work. This is the FIRST letter I did- catastrophic blowout! The router turned the corner and cut right on through the "J". 

The plastic guide bushing that rides in the lettering jig heated up, melting from the friction of the router bit not being completely centered. With this critical piece distorted, the router no longer sat correctly in the letter, and just kept on going. AAUUUGGGGHHHHH!!!!

Here was my solution: I routed out a rectangle right up into the "J", then cut a scrap of pine to fit and glued 'er in. 

Here's a closeup of the fixed and finished area. I played with the stain a bit to make the different grain blend in a little better. The result is you have to look pretty close to see the patchwork. Pretty happy with myself on the fix!

I can't remember if it was Doc or me that came up with the idea for insetting the "Challenge Coins" in the sign, but it really turned out to be a nice touch. Since the James' are a multi-service family, the coin on the left is Army, on the right Marines. 

In the end, I made 2 signs. Somehow, I don't have any pictures of the other one. It's essentially the same though, just a different name. For something i thought would only take a few hours, it sure took a lot of work to get these done. Whew!

Engagement Rings!

Just a couple of engagement rings I made for some super cool people. Made from reclaimed maple from an old elementary school that was being torn down, and a bit of scrap purple heart I had in the shop. I actually made 3 different pairs of rings, all from different materials just in case, since it was a sight unseen over the phone-type order. Congrats Dusty and Colt!

How it looked after I started playing around with different techniques on the stationary sander. It is WAY easier when you've got this much to hold onto. Kinda looks like some wooden version of brass knuckles...

A pile of ring blanks. Man, I can't believe I still all my fingers...

(see next post)

You might think that wearing gloves when working with tiny parts is a no-brainer. But let me assure 

you, you feel like you have less of a brain when you learn the hard way to wear gloves. Sanded 

one of my fingertips right off. (Don't worry, it grew back!)

This one didn't make it. I think it got wedged between the sander and the guide I was using. That's the 

only thing I can think of that would cause it to break across the 3 grain lines like that.

Handful of rings.

Here's the final selection I sent up to Dusty. On the left: purple heart/ maple sandwich. 

Center: all maple. On the right: solid rosewood. If you're doing the math, then congratulations my friend: you have keen powers of observation. I have a decent pile of ring blanks left over after this project, just in case I need to make some replacements.